Lens flares in PSP

(PSP Version 5 and above)

Paint Shop Pro does not come with many built in filters as Adobe PhotoShop. The Lens Flare filter of PhotoShop is simply superb and here is how you can achieve a similar result in Paint Shop Pro.

I start with an image of the lovely Aishwarya Rai.

Step 1
Using the selection tool , I make a circle staring at x=50 and y=40 images co-ordinates. I also make sure that Antialiasing is checked and feather value is 0 in the control palette. The circle selection is 90 pixels in radius.

Step 2
I then add a 15 pixel feather to my selection (Selection-Modify-Feather... or CONTROL-H). The selection expands.

Step 3
I change the foreground color to a light color from the image (#FEE9BE) and the background to a dark color (#8C4738). Note: These colors were selected from the image using the dropper tool .

Step 4
After adding a new layer and naming it flare, I fill the selection using the fill tool with a Sunburst fill. The Sunburst fill is located in the control palette in the Fill Style drop down menu.

Step 5
Using the Opacity slider in the Layer palette, I decrease the opacity of flare layer to 54. My final image is presented below.